What can you contribute?

I've developed a plan for this:

I will con everyone that I am a psychic prophet. I'll do this by moving from small town to small town every week and predicting disaster in the coming days. If it doesn't happen, I'll just move to the next town under a new identity.


More realistic, though, I'm good at math. Countless applications for that, more important than any teaching it to the young. Anyone good in the STEM fields should be valued if they survive the initial chaos period of looting/desperation and into the next period of restructuring communities.

There's a good shot I'll be gone in the wash, though. At the moment I am a bit incapacitated physically because of a car accident.

All I can say is that I can take something that is nothing and make it usable for something.

That,and I can fix almost anything.(just what I'm told,not bragging)

hmm skills for when the SHTF.

cooking, camping, survival skills in the woods. basic metal working and forging, leather working, sewing cloths, armor making and repair, woodworking, archery and fighting with swords, spears, maces and other archaic weapons. knowledge of siege equipment/ fortification, ability to "think outside the box" for solutions. knowledge of human powered tools, such as lathes, cranes, and other devices. basically a "jack of all trades", type person.

reply to post by denver22


Sure hun why not?....This is for survival purposes and we're not gonna live forever....someone needs to take over when we're to old to keep going......

Might as well have a ton of kids to keep it moving.....thats what life is about.

reply to post by superman2012


I'm a paramedic, although mostly emergency medicine, it covers several disciplines and not overly difficult to treat given the right tools and reference material for the more complicated issues. Also handy with a hammer, not a bad cook, and pretty adept in the outdoors. I prefer that we need not resort to survival in that sense but it's always best to be prepared

Originally posted by superman2012
reply to post by denver22

 

Aren't you supposed to be out pitching woo?

wooing is in full effect... mission acomplished chief

Wow. Everyone here has some knowledge that might be easily used in the SHTF situation (with the right tools for some). I'm sure if you branch out to your immediate family members you will see that you can almost start a small community if you need to. That is what I was thinking about when starting this thread, I live in a small town, and between the people I know and trust, it could be a pretty good self-sufficient community!

reply to post by superman2012


I am humbled, but in reality... all you need to do is talk to any older adults still around from the first Great Depression, go to living history homesteads and farms, read, read, read... and then practice what you read.

Foxfire Books are the best... especially the first 4-5 editions.

I learned dowesing from an older gentleman. He used an old grape vine. I use a fresh cut Y shaped peach limb. here in the eastern US, you go back and forth North to South as the underground aquifers flow east to west... everytime the branch bends down... mark it. Then connect the dots and there is your underground aquifer.

My education comes from years of practice as my parents grew up during the Depression and WWII. Gardening, sewing, and doing for yourself and making do was everyday life for us. I remember as a kid my Dad bringing home pallets and packing crates from work. My job was to pull the nails from the boards and put them in a coffee can for use later.

Many was the night we would sit on the back porch shelling beans, and I would listen to stories of life from the 1900s, the 20s and 30s... moonshinning, hunting, saynning... I guess I spelled that right. Basically, you get a long narrow net and get in the river or deep creek... a person on each side in the water and walk it up stream. Then loop it around, drag it out and see what you got. Yes, I have one and we use it from time to time in the deep creek behind our farm... you get pan fish, turtles, snakes... keep what you will and toss the rest.

We made hams growing up... salty, air cured, country hams... stuffed fresh sausage into long cloth tubes or sacks made from old pillow cases cut and sewn... hang it up to air dry... I've made strawberry wine, peach brandy, and have some scuppernong grape wine working now in a old giant pickle jar.

One of my favorite skills is moving an 800 pound log out of thick woods using only a rope, an axe, and brute strength and leverage. Got the idea from a documentary on Easter Island Statues.

The best resource is to find that old person that is 800 years old, wears worn out clothes... bibbed overalls, throws nothing away, has a dribble of snuff stain at the corner of their mouth, still walks everywhere or drives an old 1970 Ford or Chevy, has a yard full of chickens... pays cash for everything.

What kind of info comes from someone like that?

If your chickens are still relatively young and have stopped laying eggs... put some red crushed hot cayenne pepper on their feed.

When you put your potatoes up under the house or in the root cellar, sprinkle a little hydrated lime on them to keep them dry and from rotting. The potatoes you dig up can be planted the following spring.

For sore joints... hot cayenne pepper mixed with vaseline... makes a salve and rub on.

For a nose bleed, take a piece of paper bag, fold into a small folded piece and slip betwen the upper lip and gum... lay down and relax.

For deep set splinters that won't come out... take some salted pork, fat back, hog jowl... a small, sliced piece and set on top of splinter... wrapp with gauze before bed. In the morning the splinter will be drawn out.

If you hear thunder in the winter time... count seven days and it will snow. It is statistically proven accurate here in NC.

If you see smoke curling down from a chimney or a ring around the moon in winter... it is gonna snow.

Mother Earth News, Country Living and Small Stock Journal, Home Again, New Pioneer... all good magazines for homesteading info. Rural Heritage is great and aimed more at primitive farm living... like Amish style living. Read them and then practice what you read... Ride through the country and stop at an old abandoned homestead or farm and look... note the placement of the buildings, the foundations, how the boards are cut and placed. Ask why and try to deduce why... how far are they from a water source. Where are the old fruit trees... pears and apples and peach. Where are the barns? How did they build the fences...look at the chimneys... stone or brick?

For instance, old homes used to face east to west... sun in the morning and sun in the evening to get the longest possible amount of light into the house.. plus the natural warmth in winter... plus, in summer... you would sit on the east side as the hot summer sun set on the west side. Also, cold air from the north hits the narrowest, closed off windowless north side of the house... wrap around porches block off the high hot summer sun from heating the house in mid day. High ceilings in the south allowed heat to rise to the top of the room, cooling the floor space below and creating a natural draft or breeze. Important if the AC goes out.

Today, too many write off our elderly and senior citizens. Of all the resources at hand for self preservation, they are the greatest.

reply to post by AlreadyGone


Again, wow. Thank you for contributing that to this thread. Most of that is new to me!

reply to post by AlreadyGone


Hey I know one of those old guys, and know for a fact he's got half a mil hid in a sock in his freezer.
But his greatest asset is his knowledge, and Ive been learning as much as I can from him and his family for quite a while now. Plus my Dad was one of those walking encyclopedia type people, learned a ton from him.
So just for the record, heres a list of my skills.

Weaving, spinning
leather working, clothing manufacturing
wine making, hunting, fishing, trapping
skin tanning
Metal work with a forge
horse training
vetrinarian skills, human medical skills
cooking, gardening, herbal medicinal knowledge
machining, electrical wiring
dowsing, all types of animal husbandry
butchering, sausage making meat preservation and vegetable canning
car repair skills, motor rebuilds
home constriction from available items, or logs if need be
clay manufacturing, plates, pots, etc.
logging, welding, soldering

I think thts it, may be others unthought of

Sorry OP I had to do it!

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you."

LMAO.......I want Liam Neesons skills...

I can change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

reply to post by superman2012

I guess it depends on what the DISASTER IS...if it is NUCLEAR...all out...KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE. If it is a Magnetic Pole Shift...this could be very problematic. If the Earths Magnetic Field was compromised so some areas would not be covered by Solar Radiation or Cosmic Rays....anyone or any living things in those areas would be dead very soon...sort of like standing in front of a PARTICLE BEAM or putting your head in a Microwave.

Global Warming eventually creates an ICE AGE...this would render anything North of the Georgia/ Florida line covered in ICE! It would be a real battle to just live day to day. I used to teach various forms of Survival and can live in Winter, Arctic, Ocean, Jungle, Desert...you name it. I am very well studied in a variety of plant life from different areas of the World. I am also an EXPERT HUNTER AND TRAPPER as well as know how to use and build snares, pits, Dead Fall Crush Traps, Fish Traps...and I am a Master Diver as well and if you live by the sea...there is a lot of food a person can get right off the rocks such as Mussels, Clams, Crabs, Lobsters and you can spear fish for Fluke, Cod, Stripper, Flounder...this is New England I speak of...and the sea is a bounty of food. Of course if Global Warming causes Ocean Temps to rise too high you get RED TIDE and massive ALGAE BLOOMS which will kill off the Fish and make the shell fish toxic.

The U.S. Military will not loose in any WAR so DISASTERS would be held to Natural ones. If YELLOW STONE which is a SUPER VOLCANO were to erupt...and it is close to due...you could KISS THE U.S. GOODBYE! The rest of the planet would go into a deep freeze as all the gas and debris would not allow anyone to see the sun for many hundreds of years.

Massive Solar Flares or if the Sun started acting differently...again...KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE! I can survive in just about any weather or area...but if the FOOD CHAIN DIES OFF...so do we. Split Infinity

reply to post by superman2012


I know a lot of good jokes. I'll provide the humour. A valued commodity I would expect when everyone is feeling down in the dumps.

Dont rely on money,if you dont own your home your Banker will be your worst nightmare.
Gas will be sold on street corners in milk jugs...
What you own you can trade,if someone els dont try to take it.....
Practice camping with what you have....
fire wood, shelter, blankets,flashlights need batteries..
Live by what little means you have..

14 yrs iron worker (welder/fabricator) exp. construction (can help with the building of homes and such). Fairly decent cook (haven't killed anyone yet ). Musician ( gonna have to wind down at the end of a laborious day). Also, an excellent procreator (can't let Denver do all the hard work).

Do I meet the requirements?

Survival skills, mcguyver skills, electronics repairs, communication networks, computers and technology, hunting, fishing, identifying medicinal plants and fruits in the wild, gardening.

that and i can find anything on ebay LOL

reply to post by superman2012


I can wire up LEDs to make light... I am a bit in electronics. I am currently trying to build a radio transmitter with nothing but copper wire, paperclips and battery.

Planting / farming, got a nice green thumb
Herbal medical plant knowledge for: East coast of North America, West Coast of North America, Philippines and still working on South America
Hunting
Salt water fishing (can’t catch a dang thing in fresh water, I’m working on that)
Gun smithing
Mechanical work, mainly cars but I’ve done work on diesel engines be for
Soap crafting
Field medical training
Cliff side rescue training
Beer brewing, though it still tastes really bad I’m working on that
Sewing
Depending on supplies and tools at hand I can make bio diesel
I also did private security on and off for three years. Bodyguard work not rent-a-cop.

I have other skills, but I don't really like laying out all my cards out on the table.

reply to post by kat2684


Good luck.